Save You
by Emerson Quinn
Summary: Introspective piece from Darth Vader's POV. Set during ROTJ. Lyrics are Save You by Emilie Autumn.


**How do I save you from a fate so sweet  
As being torn to pieces by a loving hand ?**

I know that is what I am doing. Yet I continue….like a child with a lantern, I tempt you to me, little shimmer-winged creature that you are. And you come…you cannot resist the light I let show through with a cool, calculated single-mindedness. Now you are standing before me, wearing black, as if the Darkness has already seeped into your soul. This is a fate which you cannot avoid…it is your destiny. And mine. To tear your heart to pieces, like I did your mother's.

**  
How do I save you from a voice so soft  
As that which acquiesces to your each demand? **

So you hear his voice. It is soft, seductive…like the Dark side. He will tell you things, promise you things. What you desire will be yours…all you have to do is fall. **  
**

**How do I look upon the eyes I love  
And send them down this path, I know it isn't right **

I realize it now, that unrecognizable feeling which has tugged at the corners of my soul since I'd first heard your name. It is love. I hadn't fathomed it possible to feel it ever again….until I looked into your blue eyes for the first time. And though looking at you is like peering into a mirror, it is Padme's steady gaze which meets mine. How can I send you now on this path into darkness?**  
**

**How do I make you realize, my love  
That there is more to fear than strangers in the night?  
**

You are so steadfast in your beliefs. Luke, you must realize the depth of despair this path will take you to. The contained and deeply hidden fear which you've coiled behind your calm Force centered meditations is well founded….but the truth of the matter is this: you've no idea of the darkness which awaits you. You say you are unafraid….but you should be.

**I think you've had enough experience  
To differentiate between a heart of gold,  
And what you cradle in your gentle arms  
Can you not recognize a soul already sold ?**

You are young, my son, but you are wise beyond your years. The Force is with you, and you are honest enough to see the world around you honestly. Use that talent now, focus it on me and realize that I made my bargain long ago….my soul no longer belongs to me….if I still possess a soul at all. You cannot save me. **  
**

**How do I save you from the things I've been ?  
I can't deny the past, it's written on my face **

I am unsure now how to protect you….to keep you from turning. Your humbling desire to bring me back to the Light could be what drags you into the Darkness with me. I cannot hide who I am, what I've done….the past is the past….but perhaps I can save you from a hell of your own making.

**  
How do I save you from the mess you're in  
When I can't make you leave this torturous embrace **

I want to send you away….tell you to go, _run_, save yourself while you still have time. But you won't leave me. You stand gazing back at me, seeing me on more levels than I'd thought you capable of. I want you to go, I need you to stay. Being here with you is the sweetest torture I've ever known….and I know your love for me will be the death of you. You let out a soul-weary sigh as the shuttle docks….it's time for both of us to face our destinies.

**How do I save you?  
How do I set you free?  
Behind the curtain waits a darker world  
If I can't make you leave,  
How can I save you from me?**

I can feel the turning of the wheel of fate...and I know you feel it as well. My conflicted feelings muddle my thoughts...I want you to turn, but not in service to the Emperor. I want you to join _me, _but part of me cannot sentence you to the darkness I dwell in now. You will not leave me, you will not turn. Such dark plans I have for you, my son, such dark plans. Your steady gaze belies a certainty I know you do not fully possess, and it is obvious what your most fervent desire is. How can I save you now from what you want the most? How do I save you from me?


End file.
